tenterhook

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keep someone on tenterhooks

Fig. to keep someone in suspense. Don't keep me on tenterhooks! Tell me your news! We were all kept on tenterhooks waiting to find out what happened.

See also: keep

on tenterhooks

nervously waiting to find out what is going to happen She waited on tenterhooks for James to call. We were kept on tenterhooks all morning waiting for his decision.

on tenterhooks

anxiously waiting for news about someone or something She was on tenterhooks until her son called and said he was not hurt.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of tenterhook (a hook that holds cloth that is stretched to dry), suggesting that someone's emotions are tightly stretched like a piece of cloth held by tenterhooks

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tenterhook